YEREVAN: THE Community-managed village forests covering more than two million hectares in Tanzania are creating opportunities for carbon trading, generating income for local communities while supporting forest conservation.
Permanent Secretary in the Vice-President’s Office, Dr Richard Muyungi, said this during parliamentary discussions on climate and nature conservation in Yerevan, Armenia, noting that participatory forest management has helped promote carbon trading by giving communities incentives to protect natural resources and benefit economically from conservation.
Speaking at the meeting, he highlighted mangrove forests as particularly valuable because of their capacity to store carbon.
According to Dr Muyungi one hectare of mangrove forest can store approximately 1,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, increasing the forests’ value and encouraging communities to participate in carbon trading.
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He also cited seaweed farming along Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coast as an achievement in improving women’s economic livelihoods, highlighting its contribution to income generation in coastal communities.
On forest conservation, Dr Muyungi said the government was promoting clean cooking energy to reduce dependence on firewood and charcoal, which contribute to tree cutting and forest degradation.
He warned that continued tree felling threatened the country’s forests, stressing that wider adoption of clean cooking solutions would help conserve biodiversity and reduce pressure on forest resources.
The discussions highlighted Tanzania’s efforts to link environmental conservation with economic opportunities for communities, while promoting sustainable management of natural resources and reducing emissions.
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